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Premier League: QPR to hijack Newcastle's Remy deal

With QPR appearing to have stolen Loic Remy from under Newcastle's noses, Christian Crowther assesses the impact on both clubs...

"With the transfer window already a fortnight complete, Remy's reversal represents a crushing blow for Alan Pardew's squad, considering there are not many better or more plausible options on the market at present.

Everybody knows that money talks and, in this instance, it seems that Loic Remy was willing to listen.

After reports circulated as late as Monday that the 26-year-old France striker was on the verge of putting pen to paper on a move to St James' Park, it now appears as if Tony Fernandes' chequebook has swayed him into snubbing Tyneside for west London.

It is understood that QPR joined Newcastle in meeting Marseille's asking price of around £8 million, but the Loftus Road outfit were prepared to offer Remy significantly higher wages of around £70,000-a-week.

Harry Redknapp had previously claimed to be under the impression that the forward wasn't interested in a move to the R's, though a lucrative proposal appears to have changed all that.

For Newcastle and their crestfallen fans, this makes for grave tidings considering the Magpies were relying on Remy to replace their freshly departed top scorer Demba Ba.

Although the Toon still have Papiss Cisse on the books, the striker has not been able to hit anywhere near the sort of form he displayed in the second half of last season. Pardew ominously said after the weekend draw at Norwich that: "He needed someone up there with him and I haven't got another striker who I think is at the level that they should be at the club."

With the transfer window already a fortnight complete, this represents a crushing blow for Alan Pardew's squad, considering there are not many better or more plausible options on the market at present.

The news could act as part of a double blow for the Magpies this week if, as expected, their influential captain Fabricio Coloccini is granted his wish to return to Argentina for personal reasons, with rumours suggesting that they will agree to terminate his contract in the next 24 hours.

Given that Newcastle have been decimated by injuries to defensive personnel this season, these events couldn't have transpired at a worse time.

If the Magpies are to turn their season around and finish in the top halft - currently rated at around [7.4] - they need to add to the squad rather than witness further depletion.

For QPR, who are still rated as short as [1.7] for the drop, this also represents a big financial risk and seems to go back on Harry Redknapp's pledge not to throw more money at survival if it looked unlikely.

The ex-Tottenham boss is clearly convinced by recent results that the great escape is back on despite remaining bottom of the Premier League, five points from safety.

Where Harry decides to play the versatile forward poses another point of query too.

In recent games, star man Adel Taarabt has been deployed as a false number nine in an attacking three, but Remy's arrival could signal a formation change.

Harry may opt to move the Moroccan or indeed Remy out wide, but perhaps the most likely scenario would be dropping him in behind Remy much like the Rafael van der Vaart/Emmanuel Adebayor combination that he favoured at Spurs.